LONDON (BP) -- Though the United Kingdom's vote yesterday (June 23) to leave the European Union took many political observers by surprise, leaders at GuideStone Financial Resources and the Southern Baptist Foundation say they've had the referendum in view for months and have taken steps to protect Southern Baptist investors from the resultant market volatility.

Meanwhile, Christian commentators on both sides of the Atlantic have weighed in on the "Brexit" -- as Britain's E.U. exit has been dubbed -- with opinions divided and calls for believers to help bring unity to the U.K. Read More

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- Leading change in a church can be difficult and must be navigated with prayer, love and patience, pastors acknowledged in a panel discussion held during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in St. Louis.

LifeWay Christian Resources hosted more than 800 church leaders for a free breakfast and discussion on "Leading Change in the Church." LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer unpacked three things most leaders forget to do when leading change: begin with prayer, pray with a guiding coalition, and see crises as opportunities. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- A rumor promulgated by satirical news-like websites and blogs that the Southern Baptist Convention and at least one cooperating state convention are building Islamic mosques is being exposed as a lie.

The self-proclaimed "Christian apocalyptic … news satire and parody site" The End Times wrote perhaps the first posting of the false report as early as May 28 when it claimed the SBC had launched a "Mosques Across America" campaign "to build mosques all across the nation in order to help foster religious tolerance and a general sense of niceness towards all." Read More

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- Abortion-minded women in St. Louis have a new opportunity to learn the truth about their unborn children thanks in part to Southern Baptists.

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), announced the placement of a sonogram machine with Thrive St. Louis during the denominational entity's presentation at the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting. The gift through the ERLC's Psalm 139 Project, in partnership with Focus on the Family, will equip the ministry's new mobile center with ultrasound technology primarily to help reach college campuses and underserved communities. Read More

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- More than 175 Southern Baptists interested in the work of replanting struggling churches convened for the first-ever National Replant Gathering prior to the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention.

Sponsored by the North American Mission Board, the gathering was designed to connect those engaged in the replanting process with one another, as well as to encourage and train them. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Scott McConnell has been named executive director of LifeWay Research, a Nashville-based evangelical firm specializing in surveys about faith in culture and matters affecting the church.

McConnell, 45, succeeds Ed Stetzer, who will join Wheaton College's faculty July 1 as The Billy Graham Distinguished Endowed Chair for Church, Mission, and Evangelism in addition to serving as executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at the Chicago-area college. Read More

KINGSTON, Jamaica (BP) -- Local authorities have charged one man and named another a "person of interest" in the April 30 murders of two American missionaries in Jamaica.

Andre Thomas, 25, was charged with murder and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition in connection with the deaths of Randy Hentzel and Harold Nichols, the Jamaica Constabulary Force reported June 23 in a news release. Thomas was arrested in early June and also faces unrelated charges under Jamaica's Sexual Offenses Act, according to the release. Read More

David Jeremiah recounts how Christians have used societal advances throughout the ages to advance the Gospel, beginning with the apostle Paul. Amid such innovations as the printing press and the Internet, the California pastor notes: "Sin is still awful. Death is still coming. Judgment is still waiting. The grace of God is still available." Read More

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